Written by Contributer: Sean Gallagher
EPL Roundup Matchday 24/25: Newcastle Clawing out of Relegation; Conte & Spurs Have Disastrous Week; Leicester’s Late-Game Woes Strike Again
It’s been a while! After a long international break and an FA Cup round, the Premier League finally returned this week and it’s time to look back on a very eventful slew of games.
Newcastle v Everton (3-1)
When two teams that are fighting to stay above relegation play against each other it’s not always easy on the eye… But it sure makes for entertaining stuff! Everton headed to Newcastle on Tuesday for Frank Lampard’s first league match in charge ever since his tenure managing Chelsea between 2019-2021. Last weekend his reign quickly began as a refreshing site for Toffees fans getting a 4-1 victory over Brentford in the FA Cup.
36 minutes into this pivotal clash, the ugliness bounced Everton and Lampard’s way when an own goal ricocheted in off of Jamaal Lascelles. But they weren’t to be outdone! Less than 2 minutes later, Everton gifted the home team an own-goal of their own (and a sigh of relief for Lascelles) after his header went off the crossbar and in off a helpless Mason Holgate.
From there it was all Newcastle aided by their raucous home fans willing them to victory. Everton’s typically shambolic backline was on full display when Allan Saint-Maximin blew by everyone to send a service into the box; it probably shouldn’t have fallen back-post to Ryan Fraser, who easily scored for the Magpies. New signing Kieran Trippier put the icing on the cake late in the game when a beautiful long range free kick easily beat a diving Jordan Pickford and that was that. It’s becoming normal for Everton to lose these sort of games now which just should not be their standard. Even with a new manager and a couple of decent signings made in January they’re still showing worrying signs that must be cleaned up if they want to play in this league next season. One thing is for certain: coaching honeymoons do not last in the Premier League. Frank Lampard’s got his work cut out for him.
As for Newcastle, it’s been quite a stretch! For a while it felt as though all the big purchases, the new ownership of the club, and the appointment of Eddie Howe as manager weren’t going to be enough to keep the Magpies in the Premier League. Now, it’s looking more and more like a reality with each game. Newcastle haven’t lost since mid-December (albeit against mostly poor opposition) and are starting to distance themselves from the bottom three.
Tottenham-Southampton (2-3)
Look away Spurs fans! Tottenham just cannot catch a break right now. In a heated top-4 battle that no team seems to be worthy of at the moment. Antonio Conte’s team had to win this one being at home against mid-table Southampton. New transfers Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, both from Juventus, came to Tottenham in January looking to make an immediate impact. While both players, especially Bentancur, have shown great flashes of play, it hasn’t been enough for a Spurs side that have now lost 3 in a row.
Twice in this match Tottenham led Southampton. And twice did the Saints come back. Spurs’ first lead came minutes after a horrible miss by Sergio Reguilon, when Southampton keeper Jan Bednarek was guilty of an own-goal (common theme this week!). That 1-0 lead quickly evaporated when Armando Broja used the inside of his right foot in a perfect hit that Lloris had no chance of saving.
Ok-the lead vanished, but you’ve still got almost the whole game to get it back. After narrowly escaping a plethora of chances Southampton had, that’s exactly what star player Heung-min Son did in a mesmerizing linkup with Lucas Moura. All the South Korean international had to do was let the ball hit his foot. Giving what should’ve been the winning goal for a team that wants to play in the Champions League next season. But that’s not how Tottenham operate. The impossible happened and Spurs conceded 2 goals within minutes to an inspired Southampton team that truly deserved to win.
Next to a fuming Antonio Conte you could tell how much it meant to Ralph Hasenhüttl, a manager who never fails to show his elation for a big moment. Credit to Southampton for not taking their foot off the gas all game despite being down twice in this match. They probably should have won the game by a bigger margin.
Quick Hits:
- Oh, Leicester. If Tottenham can’t catch a break than there’s no words to describe the torture the Foxes are going through this season. It’s almost comparable to being a Philadelphia sports fan. Brendan Rodgers’ team was seconds away from an impressive victory against West Ham, but their league-worst set-piece defending struck again to hand the Hammers a game-tying goal. Up until that moment it was exactly the kind of restorative win Leicester were looking for. They showed resilience coming back from an early West Ham goal and led the game 2-1 for most of the second half…. until you know what happened. West Ham have of course had the off-the-field distraction of defender Kurt Zouma’s grotesque animal cruelty video surfacing the internet. With these circumstances in mind the team seemed mostly unphased and got an important point to remain 4th in the league. Between a shaky performance against Leicester and an unimpressive win against lowly Watford… West Ham aren’t giving me confidence at the moment.
- Very crucial game between Arsenal and Wolves with the Gunners taking all 3 points in a gritty 1-0 win. Both teams are making a case for the 4th spot this season and with the way Wolves have been playing as of late this was a huge result for Arsenal who played with 10 men for a good portion of the second half
- It’s becoming expected of Manchester United to drop points. The question is: are they playing below their standards or is this just the reality of the squad that they have and the way they play? 2 lackluster draws to Burnley and Southampton are the latest installments of poor play from the Red Devils
- Not to be outdone by Tottenham-Southampton, Aston Villa and Leeds were playing in a remarkable game at the same time. Villa opened up a 3-1 advantage, but Leeds were able to find 2 goals to equalize in a very entertaining 3-3 draw
- Liverpool are slowly but surely lurking behind Manchester City in the table. 2 wins this week were enough to keep them within 9 points and as I mentioned last time the two teams still have to play each other later in April. Don’t count out this title race just yet
This is a Premier League blog-but here’s your reminder that the Champions League finally returns with the beginning of the Round of 16 this week! Knockout round soccer